Once lauded as the wave of the African future, Zambia's economic boom in the 1960s and early 1970s was fueled by the export of copper and other primary materials. Since the mid-1970s the urban economy has rapidly deteriorated. This title explores the social and cultural responses to this prolonged period of sharp economic decline.
"With Expectations of Modernity James Ferguson has once more made an important contribution to the reconstruction of anthropology. His own vivid ethnography of urban lives in the late twentieth century offers new understandings of culture and cosmopolitanism, while his sense of the wider picture helps us see Africa, in a difficult period, as the continent which contemporary globalization rhetoric conveniently forgets. This is contemporary anthropology of the most relevant, responsible and intellectually sophisticated kind." -Ulf Hannerz, Stockholm University
"A deeply thoughtful book, written with enormous sensitivity. I much admired Ferguson's very original take on African 'modernity.' His engagement with cultural studies is always informed by a deep historical understanding and an appreciation of economic realities. He connects critically but sympathetically with both his informants and with earlier generations of urban anthropologists. The book is often moving--the hardships of life in this 'abject' postmodern setting are too evident, but the amazing creativity of urban 'citemene' culture is wonderfully described. And Ferguson's account of the fraught, conflictual and sometimes violent nature of gender relations is extremely important. Certainly one of the best books on Africa I have read in recent years, this will be required reading for anthropologists and historians." -Megan Vaughan, Oxford University
"Ferguson stands as a strong voice against the modernization paradigm."
